Australian Honeyeaters: Meliphagidae

Physical characteristics: Striped honeyeaters are about 8.5 inches (22 centimeters) long and weigh about 1.4 ounces (40 grams). Their cheeks and the area from the forehead to the nape (back part of the neck) is dark with white stripes. Their underparts are a pinkish buff, and upperparts and tail are grayish.

Geographic range: The birds are located in eastern Australia, from mid-north Queensland to northern Victoria and west to the York Peninsula, especially inland from the Great Dividing Range.

Habitat: They live in riparian (along the riverbank) woodlands with casuarina (a type of tree) and mallee (shrubby eucalyptus) and other Striped honeyeaters eat nectar from eucalyptus, mistletoes, and other plants, and sometimes eat fruits and seeds. (Illustration by Emily Damstra. Reproduced by permission.) semiarid woodlands with eucalyptus, acacia, and native pine.

Diet: Striped honeyeaters eat nectar from eucalyptus, mistletoes, and other plants, and sometimes eat fruits and seeds. They also occasionally eat insects and spiders that they capture from foliage and tree bark or that they catch in the air.

Behavior and reproduction: Striped honeyeaters are usually found in pairs or small groups. They sound an attractive whistling song. The generally do not migrate, but do show local movements. The species breeds from August to January. Nests are suspended off of drooping foliage. They tend to like to build nests near gray butcherbird nests. Females lay from two to five eggs, with three being average. Both parents incubate the eggs. After hatching, both parents feed the young, but sometimes have helpers feed the chicks. The time it takes to hatch the eggs is sixteen to seventeen days, while the fledgling period is also sixteen to seventeen days.

Striped honeyeaters and people: People sometimes regard them as pests in orchards.

Conservation status: Striped honeyeaters are not threatened. ∎